The Caldwell Parsonage is located at 909 Caldwell Avenue in Union Township of

Union County, New Jersey Union County is a County (United States), county in the northern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the county was the state's List of counties in New Jersey, seventh-most-populous county

, United States. It was the home of the Rev. James Caldwell, a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

minister and active supporter of the

Patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot(s) or The Patriot(s) may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American R ...

cause during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. In 1982 it was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

, as a well-preserved 18th-century farmhouse with a historical connection. With The war is intertwined with the early history of the building. An original parsonage dating to 1730 was burned in 1780 by a

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

mob, and later that year Caldwell's wife Hannah was killed by British soldiers in the house during the

Battle of Connecticut Farms The Battle of Connecticut Farms, fought June 7, 1780, was one of the last major battles between British and American forces in the northern colonies during the American Revolutionary War. Hessian General Wilhelm von Knyphausen, in command of ...

., retrieved March 4, 2008. "As British troops returned to Connecticut Farms, Abigail looked out a rear bedroom window and seeing a soldier walking to the house said: "A soldier is near the house." Young Elias said, "Let me see!" Hannah pushed Elias away and looked out the window. She was shot by a British soldier who fired his

musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually dis ...

. She fell back and died." Caldwell himself was shot by an American sentry a year later. In 1782, with the war over, what is now Connecticut Farms Presbyterian Church built the present building. It continued to serve as a home for its pastors until the 20th century, when the church built one closer to the building. It currently serves as a historical museum, owned and operated by the Union Township Historical Society. It is open to the public on weekday mornings and afternoons. Several state grants have been made for renovations and upkeep of the aging structure.

References

External links

Union Township Historical Society
{{NRHP in Union County, New Jersey Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey Historic house museums in New Jersey Houses completed in 1782 American Revolutionary War sites Clergy houses in the United States Museums in Union County, New Jersey Houses in Union County, New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Union County, New Jersey Union Township, Union County, New Jersey 1782 establishments in New Jersey New Jersey Register of Historic Places

See also

References

External links